As hopes for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza continue to dim, it’s important to underline that the United States is already engaged militarily in a broader Middle East conflict.

More than 37,000 Palestinian men, women, and children have been killed and many more displaced since Hamas terrorists set off the war nine months ago by murdering 1,200 Israelis and taking dozens of others hostage.

American involvement goes beyond weapon sales and aid to Israel.

It also comes with the daily participation of 7,000 sailors and jet pilots aboard ships in a strike group that includes the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. That aircraft carrier has been strategically placed in the Red Sea to shoot down drones and missiles being launched at commercial shipping vessels by Houthi rebels in Yemen who support Hamas.

Pentagon officials worry that sailors and pilots in their ninth month of a twice-extended deployment may be losing the sharpness needed to respond, often in seconds, to a detected drone or missile. Their constant anticipation of combat while on alert has also taken a mental toll that may result in post-traumatic stress. But an even longer deployment may be unavoidable.

Efforts to begin a temporary cease-fire between Israel and the Hamas-led Gaza government seem to be going nowhere as they consider what should happen after that. Neither wants a return to the status quo that existed before Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 massacre and kidnappings. With three-quarters of its buildings destroyed, there’s a question of whether Gaza can recover from the devastation wrought by Israel’s retaliatory assaults.

Houthi militants in support of Hamas began launching Iranian-supplied drones and missiles from Yemen in November and vowed not to stop until Israel gets out of Gaza. The Houthis have since attacked more than 60 commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, killing four sailors, including one aboard a Greek-owned coal carrier that was struck June 12 by a remote-controlled boat filled with explosives.

The Houthis’ use of drone boats is viewed as an escalation by Pentagon officials trying to decide whether to once again extend the Eisenhower strike group’s deployment. But there aren’t many options.

The United States has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which represent about 40% of the total worldwide, but three have crews undergoing training and four are undergoing maintenance and repairs that can take a year. Of the remaining carriers, one is off the coast of Norfolk, Va., two are in San Diego, and the fourth is scheduled to head to San Diego from its deployment in the Philippine Sea near Japan.

Too many lives have been lost, too many families left homeless, too many loved ones separated. Ending the human carnage we only see on our TV screens while real people thousands of miles away are starving, dying, and grieving should motivate every move this country makes.

While U.S. military strategists try to figure out what to do with our aircraft carriers, our diplomats must apply more pressure on Israel–with which, as opposed to Hamas, we have some leverage–to reach at least a temporary truce that, in a lesser regard, would provide more time to figure out the Eisenhower dilemma.

The carrier group’s action in the Red Sea means America is at war to a limited extent. Now, careful decisions must be made to keep our involvement from escalating.

* Guest editorial by Philadelphia Inquirer.